How this dance achieved the present status of going public and to be performed especially in front of males is not known. One can say that this change can be attributed to the contribution may by the films of Hollywood. There are Various types of belly dance and these dances can be made to erotic if the performer likes to make it look so. Making the belly dance look like a sex dance and calling it as Arab sex dance, totally depends on the performer and the audience.

The different types of belly dance are as follows.

Tribal : This type of belly dance has evolved in America and is basically improvisational. This is usually performed in a group. This dance can be a drum circle dance. The costumes of this dance are more casual than the costumes used for other types of Belly dancing. The music is experimental. This dance can be a fusion of  different genres.

Egyptian : The Egyptian belly dancing is a very traditional style of dance. It is considered to be the true and original form of Arabic Belle Dancing. This  dance is both beautiful and conservative. The Egyptian belly dancers have to wear very specific kinds of costumes. This costume may even include veils. The Egyptian belly dancing involves a lot of shimmying moves. The music for this type of belly dancing is the traditional Arabic music.

Cabaret : In the USA  Cabaret is the most famous sort of belly dancing. The Belly dancing that is usually performed at a bar or club is a Cabaret form of belly dancing. The moves of a cabaret dancer are usually very attractive and at times can be aphrodisiac and erotic too.  This dance is usually performed solo. It may be a group too. The music for cabaret belly dancing  can either be traditional or modern. It is this type of Belly dancing that is usually referred to  Arab sex dance.

Usually it is seen that When any Arabic belly dancer wears transparent clothes and has naval jewellery the dance is called as Arab sex dance.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The classical Egyptian Tarab developed in the late 20^th century. It is only after this that the voice started dominating the scene. The Arabic belly dancing is performed in almost all the Arab countries.

Some of the Arab countries are more influenced by other non Arab countries like Morocco, Algeria and Lebanon are more influenced by France, Egypt seems to be more influenced by the Roman culture. Consequently the Arabic belly dance music is different in different countries.

Arabic Belly Dance Music has specific rhythmic patterns that gives form to the Arabic Belly Dance . This rhythm is the basis of interpretation and visual expression in this dance. The Rhythmic patterns that are very prominent in the Arabic Belly Dance Music are Beledi Rhythm,  Ciftetelli Rhythm, Taksim Rhythm, Kashlima Rhythm and the Khaleegy Rhythm. Sometimes the rhythm is fast and sometimes slow. The Rhythm is very much dependent on two sounds : “Dun” and “Tek” .

The Arabic Belly Dance Music is usually composed with the help of musical instruments such as Buzuk, Saz, Mejwiz, Oud, Qanoun, Nay, Debakkeh (Tabla)

The Oud is a pear shaped lute. It has a short fretless neck. This neck can be plucked with either a feather or fingers. The feather is now made of plastic.  This musical instrument has a rich low tone. The music generated from this make  it suitable for long Tarab evenings.

Qanoun: It consists of fifty strings tied to a metallic table .This is similar to the santoor that is used in Iranian music. The strings are plucked by the musician who has strapped his right or left fingers with metallic plucks. This Music equipment adds high harmonics to the overall music.

The nay is a bamboo flute. It has seven holes.

The Saz and Buzuk are  pear shaped lute and have a long neck. These music equipments come in different sizes and have different number of frets. These instruments can be tuned in different ways.

The Derbakkeh (Tabla) is a drum. It is made of clay but nowadays made from metal. It give the basic rhythm in the  Arabic Belly Dance Music.

Rai is a type of Arabic Belly Dance Music. This is practiced and performed in Algeria. The music in this country can be tagged to be pop music but is dependent on Arabic and Algerian music. This music tends to be mixed with Reggae. Reggae is a western pop music. Performance of both French and Arabic languages is applicable to this type of Arabic Belly Dance Music.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In Europe, belly dancing is known as oriental dancing. In Turkish, it is called Oriental Dansi (Dance of the East). The French call it Danse du ventre. Americans refers to this dance form as “Middle Eastern Dance”.

In the Arab world, Raqs Baladi is performed on festive and social occasions like marriage and other social gatherings. This dance form is more for fun and celebration. People of all ages and sex perform this dance. This traditional dance is learnt by Arabs from an early age. The other form Raqs Sharqui is more dramatized version of the dance form and generally performed by professional dancers.

In belly dance, a dancer has to move muscles in different parts of the body. Through this dance form, the dancer conveys the rhythm and the emotion of the music in visual form. It is generally a solo dance having its own dance vocabulary that integrates fluidly with the rhythm of the music.

Though both men and women perform belly dancing, people generally picture it as dance form for women only. Belly dancing gets more appreciation when it is danced by a mature voluptuous woman. It is basically a dance form which expresses feminine sensuality.

This dance form was introduced into the western world towards the end of the Ottoman Empire in the late nineteenth century. The Arabic dancers were brought in to show their dances in various exhibitions and world fairs held in many parts of the western world. These shows made this dance form quite popular as more and more people could see this dance form. But, its popularity started reducing because of the inherent sexuality of the dance form. In fact, this dance form was banned in some parts of Arab world for many years.

The viewers get entertained when they watch a belly dance show with all the exotic movements of the dancer. But, this dance form has turned out to be a good form of exercise too. The body movements involved in this dance form makes the body flexible and provides cardiovascular exercise too. Therefore, this dance form is being considered as a form of art which provides all practitioners a fun way of exercising their body too.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In the ancient times, dancing and music was part of normal life in Egypt. Many evidences are available regarding dancing in Syria, Turkey and many other parts of Arab world in the ancient times. At that time, dancing was considered more as a means of entertainment, but dancing was prevalent in some religious occasions also.

As Christianity and later Islam started to influence the entire Arab world, these pagan forms of dancing started to be forbidden especially during religious ceremonies. But, dancing continued as a part of entertainment.

After the introduction of Islam in the entire Arab world, lots of restrictions were imposed on women when they went out of their home. Wearing of veils was one of them. This restricted dancing to be done only inside home before their relatives for celebration of family occasions.

This restriction made it impossible for any respectable woman to take up dancing as a profession. Only women who lived at the margins of society earned their living by dancing.

Gypsy tribes from Northern India migrated to the Middle East in 5^th century as musicians and dancers. As they did not follow Islam, they did not face restrictions on their performance and they moved about all over the place and they developed a style of dancing incorporating different cultures prevalent in the region. They took up the profession of entertainers where women danced and men provided the music. Some of these tribes ultimately settled in Egypt. They are known as ghawazee in Arabic. As Islam spread all over Northern Africa, Middle East, Turkey and even into Spain after Moorish invasion, this dance form also spread.

Interest in Arabic dancing in the Western world started increasing after Napoleon occupied Egypt in 1798. Many others from the Western world visited Arab world in the 19^th century. Egyptian and other Arabic dancers started visiting the Western world during different exhibitions and expositions held in this period in different places like Paris, London and in the United States.

In the 20^th century, many dance forms influenced the development of Western dancing. One of them was Oriental dance form which was basically Arabic in style. In Egypt, Arabic dance and music started to develop to entertain many visitors, who came to visit Egypt. Also the growing Arabic cinema industry helped in its growth.

In the present day Middle East, belly dancing is performed in tourist hotels in places like Egypt. But, dancing is under threat in many places of Arab world because of Islamic fundamentalism prevalent in those areas.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This museum has the biggest collection of Egyptian antiquities. Visitors could find newer items every time they visit the museum. The biggest attraction of the museum is the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

The museum was first established in 1835 by the then king of Egypt Muhammad Ali. The museum has moved to various places before it was moved to its present location in Tahrir Square in 1902.

The museum consists of two floors. Ground floor has an extensive collection of papyrus and coins of the ancient times. The pieces of papyrus are generally small pieces or fragments because of the decay suffered over the last two millennia. These documents are written in various languages like Greek, Latin, Arabic and ancient Egyptian writings in hieroglyphics. The coins are manufactured using different metals like gold, silver and bronze. These coins are Egyptian as well as Greek, Roman and Islamic. By using these coins, it has been possible to find out details regarding ancient Egyptian trade. Artifacts belonging to the period of New Kingdom, covering the period from 1550 to 1070 BC are also stored in this floor. These artifacts are bigger in size and consist of statues, tables and coffins. The first floor contains artifacts from the last two dynasties of ancient Egypt. Some of the most important artifacts on this floor include the items from tombs of Pharaohs Tuhtmosis III, Tuhtmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut and Maherpen, and many more articles taken from the Valley of the Kings.

The most famous exhibit of this museum is the remains of the tomb of King Tutankhamun because most of them were found in intact condition. The collection contains different items used by the king throughout his life. There are decorated chests which were most probably used as suitcases, ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces and many more pieces of jewelry, alabaster vases and flasks. Many weapons and instruments used by the king are also on display. The most well known piece of exhibit is the famous Golden Mask. This mask weighs 24 pounds and made of solid gold.

Another famous exhibit is the remains of Pharaoh Ramses III. The remains of other pharaohs are also on display here.

This is a brief description of the museum. Much more space is required to write about them in detail

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The technique and graceful movement of the Egyptian belly dancers make them look very unique and different from the rest. The Egyptian belly dance is also known as oriental dance in the Arab world.

The belly dance is considered to be of the level of ballet dance or the opera dance of the western world. The music in these productions especially for the belly dancing sequence is very passionate, heartfelt and full of emotions.

Most of the music in the arab world especially Egypt is based on the creations of Oum Kalthoum, Farid Al Atreche and Abdel Halim Hafez. These artists have been considered an inevitable part of the Egyptian culture and have been praised as national heroes.

Some of the famous belly dancers who later became film stars are Samia Gamaal, Tahia Carioca and Nagua Fauod. These artists were not only known for belly dancing but also for singing , acting and dancing waltz.

Fifa Abdou and Dina are two most famous belly dancer of Egypt. The 12 most famous belly dancers of Egypt contributed so much taxes to the Egyptian state coffers in 1995 that these 12 belly dancers  were considered the country’s 5^th biggest source of revenue. The first four sources of  revenue were the Suez Canal, tourism, petrol and cotton respectively.

The belly dancing industry has been hit adversely in the 80s and 90s just because of the wave of Islamic Fundamentalism. Slowly and steadily the traditional dance is losing foothold in its native land.  Earlier in Egypt there were nearly 5000 belly dancers but the number stands at only 357 in 1999-2000. The MTV and Channel V are propagating the western music culture in such a way that the belly dancing music and the traditional Arabic music is being considered old fashioned among the youth.

The decrease in number of belly dancers is being attributed by some to the consideration of this dance as a social taboo. The dancers and performers are not allowed to go to Mecca and perform the Haj. So the number of belly dancers is decreasing.

To fill up the scarcity of belly dancers and performers the entertainment industry is looking for females from beyond the Arab nations.  Suhair Zaki has even doubted the standards of dancers not hailing from the Arab world.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

• Shimmy: The up-and-down quick movement of the hips is called shimmy. The belly dance posture should be proper.

The right knee should be slightly raised and the right hip should snap upward. Then lower the right knee with immediate raising of the left knee, and making he left hip snap upward. These steps constitute the shimmy.

The belly dancer has options either to shimmy on one side or both sides alternatively.

• Shoulder Shimmy: The shimmy of the shoulders is not about movement of the chest but about isolation and movement of the shoulders. The shoulders are rhythmically thrown back and down. The first step is slightly leaning forward, and then pulling anyone of the shoulder up and then down in front of you. The first step is repeated of the other side shoulder too.

• Hip Circle : One full rotation of the hips is called as hip circle. This movement of the hip should be controlled and fluid. The circular movement is formed by first taking a small step to right , then pushing out the right hip, moving back, leaning forward then pushing the left hip to continue the motion.

• Hip Twist: I a hip twist one of the hips moves towards the front of the body. In this movement the level of the hips remain the same, it neither goes up nor down. If your posture is proper this twist will cover a quarter of a revolution.

• Hip Slide: For this movement the dancer has to think that the hips are in a horizontal plane In this movement the hips move only from right to left and left to right but never up and down.

• The Chest slide and the head slide can be done the way hip slide is done.

• Undulation: The up undulation and the down undulation can be executed by alternatively tucking in and out the hips and stomach with the bringing in and out of the rib cage and chest.

• Arabic Walk: It is a common way to move individually or in a group while belly dancing.

• Snake Arms: This movement is with reference to the elegant motions of the arms.
  The movements of the arms are such as to mimic a slithering snake.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Previously, Arabs were considered as nomadic people living in the desert. Their culture came into prominence with the arrival of Prophet Mohammed in 622 AD. The Arab people still constitute only a little less than five percent of world population.

Arab people are predominantly Muslim. They are followers of Prophet Mohammed and follow the holy book of Qur’an.

One of the significant components of Arab culture is its literature. Arabic literature started to develop after the introduction of Islam in 7tth Century. The holy book of Qur’an has a lasting influence on Arabic Literature. The stories of Thousand and One Nights written Arabic is world famous and is still popular.

Another component of Arab culture is its music. Essentially, Arab music is based on melody and rhythm. The main difference between Western musical scale and Arabic scales is that there are many in-between notes that are used in Arabic music. These notes are called quarter tones. But, intonation of these notes is slightly different in different regions like Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Iraq. The music is sung using many musical instruments peculiar to the region.

Any description of Arabic culture would not be complete without mentioning something about Arabian food. Originally, Arabs living in Arabian Peninsula used prepare their food mainly using dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat as well as on a yogurt product which is called leben. But, modern day Arab cooking has been influenced by different cuisines which are prevalent over the whole Arab world from spread from Morocco to Iraq. There are different variants of Arab cuisine like Lebanese, Egyptian and others. These cuisines have been influenced by cuisines of India, Turkey, Berber and other countries. A typical meal in any Arab gulf country would consist of lots of rice along with food preparations using lamb or chicken or both as separate item, with various stewed vegetables. The food is generally heavily spiced and uses tomato sauce. Food is generally served in a big platter, which is shared by everybody. Tea and Coffee are two popular beverages in the Arab world.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites